The worst of times: Child abuse in Charles Dickens' novels.

摘要

In this thesis, I will discuss the characters in Charles Dickens' novels that were affected by various types of physical, mental and emotional abuse . References from Dickens' works, reviews and commentary from authorities on the subject matter, and historical documentations will support this. I will discuss the personal impact that experiences of child abuse had on Dickens will be discussed by the author, as well as how these experiences caused him to write about child abuse's impact on both society and politics. Abuse will be discussed in the context of his novels. In particular, the novels, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, David Copperfield, and Little Dorrit. Through this thesis, I will convey that the abuse suffered by the child characters in Dickens' novels made an indelible impact on their lives, forcing them to choose to either overcome or succumb to it.